Buckeye Reporter

There were 20 deaths with influenza and pneumonia listed as the underlying cause reported in Ohio during the week ending June 19, no changes from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending June 19, there were 2,345 deaths in the state. 22.4 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 19.3 percent were from cancer and 5.3 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 7.7 percent of deaths were from Alzheimer's disease and dementia.

Studies show doctors and medical examiners may underreport Alzheimer's disease and dementia-related conditions as the underlying cause of death on death certificates, according to the National Institute on Aging.

Once infected, older adults with dementia are likely to develop a more severe and dangerous illness. The diseases which make an older adult more vulnerable to COVID-19 are age-associated chronic conditions, according to the Bright Focus Foundation.

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-06-19	Number of Deaths 2021-06-12
Heart disease	525	512
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	453	454
Cerebrovascular diseases	131	113
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	113	102
Alzheimer's disease	82	72
Diabetes mellitus	76	63
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	67	97
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	57	65
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	42	39
Influenza and pneumonia	20	20

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-06-19	Number of Deaths 2021-06-12
Alzheimer disease and dementia	181	157